Jay had given him directions to a warehouse in one of the shabby parts of town. He got off the bus stop closest to the location and continued walking. He had retrieved his old phone from Thomas 'house, so he called Jay for further instructions.
"I'm standing right outside where you asked him to meet you. Do I go in? Or wait for…"
"I can see you, just turn around." Jay said.
He turned and saw Jay leaning on a parked car with very tinted windows, close to the alley. Most of the street lights were off, so there were many dark corners.
"You look like shit, man." Jay grinned as Zac walked up to him, and they hugged.
"I feel like shit, but that's not why I'm here. Is your boss in the car? It's hard to tell with those tinted windows." He asked, and Jay laughed.
"Why would my boss drive all the way out here to meet you? Unless you're made of gold, or something equivalent. I'll take you to him. But first, you gotta put this on." Jay gave him a blindfold
"Why do I need to put on a blind fold?" He asked sceptically.
If there was one thing he learnt in prison, it's to never let his guard down. Someone was always trying to pull the rug out from under your feet. At this point, he began to question just how much he really trusted Jay, and if that trust was enough for him to follow him literally blind.
"It's the rules. You're new. The only reason the boss is even seeing you is because I vouched for you, but you're still a long way from being trusted. Till you've been cleared, you cannot know the location of any of our bases of operations." Jay replied to him with a shrug. "Trust me, it's more for your safety, so you can leave when you want, and we won't have to kill you since you don't know where the operation locations are. Once you know things, you can never leave unless through death, so be glad you have a choice at the beginning."
"So you don't trust me? Yet I'm supposed to blindly follow you?" Zac asked.
"You're the one who wanted this. You don't really have a choice. Or you can go back to where you're staying now. Be glad I didn't arrange for you to be kidnapped from here. I thought that would be more fun for me, but I don't want you frazzled when you meet my boss. You need your wits intact."
He had already come this far, so there was no point resisting. He sighed and tied the cloth around his eyes. At least he wasn't drugged or worse, kidnapped like Jay had said. It was probably a test to see if he was serious about revenge or if he would chicken out.
He tried to memorise the turns the car took while Jay drove, so he would at least know the area he was being taken to, in case of an emergency. It was pointless, he gave up after a few minutes of confusing turns. Jay was probably driving in circles just to make sure he wouldn't be able to find the hideout he was being taken to. Several minutes later, the car slowed and stopped. Jay mumbled words of identification that sounded like gibberish to Zac, and then they were driving again into what Zac guessed was one of the boss's compounds for illegal activities. From all Jay had said in prison, the boss had several legitimate businesses, but the illegal ones were the real money makers, and the legitimate ones were mostly used for laundering the illegal cash profits.
Jay told him it was okay to get down from the car when they stopped again and he stepped out. He was told to keep the blindfold on, and was led to a room that smelled like expensive whiskey. A few seconds of silence passed before he heard a gruff voice order Jay to take off the blindfold.
He squinted as his eyes tried to adjust, and immediately tried to scan the room to make sure he wasn't in any danger. It was just him, Jay, and an older man seated behind the desk with one hand on the table and the other hand underneath the desk. There was probably a gun there just in case Zac tried anything funny. His dark hair had streaks of silver in it, and he was dressed in a suit that probably cost more than some people would ever see in their lifetime. The boss had an impassive expression as he scanned Zac with his eyes to determine if he was worthy of his time.
Zac decided to speak. This man needed to see that he wasn't afraid, and that he could hold his own. If he started out by making himself look weak, it would end badly. Another lesson from prison.
"Was the blindfold really necessary?" He asked with a deadpan expression.
"I do not know how trustworthy you are. Not everyone is allowed to know the location of my properties and I prefer it that way. Now, sit." The man said as he put a handgun on the table.
The unspoken message was loud and clear; if Zac misbehaved, he would be shot. No one knew where he was, and they may never even find his body. As he sat, a man walked into the room, and then stood beside the boss. Zac didn't pay much attention at first, not wanting to be rude by taking his eyes off the boss, and looking around elsewhere.
But when he took a brief look at the man standing beside the boss, his face looked familiar. He realised who it was after a few seconds, despite the time that had passed. It was the owner of the club that had tried to rob him, and then sued him for attempted murder and sent him to prison. The bastard also recognised Zac, because he smiled discreetly as if daring Zac to say a word to him. The boss spoke before Zac could utter a word.
"Jay has already filled me in on the details, but I would like to hear everything directly from you to avoid any misunderstanding. So speak." The boss said.
Zac explained the nature of his situation and what he hoped to achieve in order to have revenge. He didn't dare speak of the Hansen family, because then he would look crazy. When the right time comes, he would go after the family that killed him. For now, Zac's revenge was important.
"You have no dime to your name, you know that this will cost you a lot of money. I'm not running a charity. I only get involved in whatever will yield returns to me." The boss replied.
"I'm not here for charity. I'm well aware that it would cost me. I'm willing to pay in kind. There must be something I can do. I'm here to work, and make money that office workers would never dream of."
"There is something you can do. You could go back home and forget any of this ever happened, move on with your life and try to make something useful of yourself instead of getting involved with the Mafia. Right now, you know nothing. You will never be able to find this place on your own, so you can leave. But once you get involved, there's no changing your mind. You're in for life."
"I don't want to forget, I want revenge. You should understand me more than anyone. If any of your men betray you, do you forget about it? I'm sure you don't. What home would I go back to? I have nothing thanks to the treachery I faced, and you expect me to just let it slide? Never. If you won't help me, I'll go somewhere else and find a way." Zac said through gritted teeth.